botstiber



May 9, 1961 D. w. BOTSTIBER DRAIN PLUG 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 Filed Dec. 30, 1958 n 8 6 A. 7 4 7\ 9 J 3 M Ill I 1/ III! m mi NW9 II "n \m m M 6 m 42 6 5 MW 8 5 4 6 5 5 9 V .1 n F [m n u o 6 #4 l 6 Fig. 8

DIETRlCH W. BOTSTIBEQ INVENTOR.

BY WJW ATTORNEY United States Patent Oiiice DRAIN PLUG Dietrich W. Botstiber, 22 Meredith Road, Philadelphia, Pa.

Filed Dec. 30, 1958, Ser. No. 783,838 4 Claims. (Cl. 210-222) This invention relates to drain plugs for use in crank cases, oil sumps, tanks and elsewhere, and is directed particularly to drain plugs having an element which is readily movable into and out of operating position.

In my issued Patent No. 2,704,156 I have shown and described a drain plug having a removable insert carrying a magnetic chip collector and provided with a self closing valve which serves to seal the opening in the drain plug upon removal of the chip collector.

While such constructions have proven of great value it has not been possible heretofore to drain the tank without removing the whole plug or removing the insert which carries the chip collector. As a result, oil is often spilled from the tank and operation is time cons ming. Moreover, when the plug is removed, it may be misplaced or lost during the drainage of the tank. The constructions heretofore provided also have been incapable of instant or quick operation and generally require the use of some form of tie or retaining means to prevent unscrewing of the insert upon vibration or other loosening action.

In accordance with the present invention, an

improved drain plug construction is provided which permits drain- Moreover, the construction provided is such that the tie or retaining means usually required with threaded constructions can be eliminated altogether.

In the preferred form of the invention shown and described herein, the drain plug is provided with an insert which may conveniently include a chip collector and is itself movable or may contain a movable element to permit drainage of the tank. At the same time, the insert is removable from the plug to clean chips from the magnetic chip collecting element. Further, as shown, the construction is designed with a spring actuated self closing valve wherein the spring which actuates the valve also serves to hold the movable insert in its normal closed or retained position.

Accordingly, the to provide a dram moval of the plug.

Another object of the invention is to provide a drain plug with a quick-acting insert secured to the plug by a bayonet-like connection.

A specific object of the invention is to provide a drain plug with a movable insert and a self closing valve wherein the spring which tends to actuate the valve serves to retain the insert in place within the plug.

These and other objects and features of the present invention will appear from the following description thereof wherein reference is made to the figures of the accompanying drawings.

In the drawings:

Fig. 1 is a longitudinal sectional view through a typi- Patented May 9, 1961 cal form of drain plug embodying the present invention with the parts arranged in the drain closing position;

Fig. 2 is a view similar to Fig. 1 with the parts in oil draining position;

Fig. 3 is a longitudinal sectional view through the plug of Fig. 1 with the insert element removed;

Fig. 4 is a transverse sectional view through the drain plug of Fig. 1 taken on the line 4-4 of Fig. 1;

Fig. 5 is a longitudinal sectional view through an alternative construction wherein the magnetic chip collector is held in place by the valve spring;

Fig. 6 is a transverse sectional view through the construction shown in Fig. 5 taken on the line 66 thereof;

Fig. 7 is a longitudinal sectional view through a further alternative form of the invention wherein the insert is movable to alternative positions to permit either oil drainage or removal of the insert; and

Fig. 8 illustrates still another alternative embodiment of the present invention.

In that form of the invention chosen for purposes of illustration in Figs. 1-4 of the drawings, the drain plug has a body 2 provided with the usual external threads 4 for engagement with a nipple or fitting 6 carried by the tank 8. A valve housing 10 extends upward from the inner end of the body 2 and is provided with openings 12 in the side walls thereof through which oil may circulate into contact with the magnetic head 14 carried by an insert 16. The upper end of the housing 10 on the body has an inturned marginal lip 18 against which the upper end of a spring 20 bears whereas the lower end of the spring 20 bears against a valve member 22.

The insert 16 illustrated in Figs. 1-4 has external threads 24 which engage complementary threads on the inner surface of a central bore 26 in the plug body 2. The upper end of the bore 26 in the plug is inclined outward as shown at 28 to serve as a valve seat engageable by the valve member 22. The valve member 22 is normally held in the raised position shown in Fig. 1 by the insert 16 when the latter is screwed into place. However, when the insert 16 is removed, the valve member 22 will be pressed against the valve seat 28 by the spring 20 to prevent the flow of oil from the tank.

In accordance with the construction shown in Figs. 14, the insert 16 is provided with a drain member 30 which is slidably and rotatably mounted within a central bore 32 in the insert. The magnetic head 14 is secured to the upper end of the drain member 30 and a sealing ring 34 is positioned on the drain member at a point directly below the magnetic head 14 in position to seal the upper end of the bore 32. The drain member 30 is provided with a central bore 36 having radially extending drain openings 38 communicating therewith and extending to the exterior of the drain member below the sealing ring 34.

Since the valve member 22 is urged downward against the magnetic head or other portion of the insert 30, the spring 20 serves to urge the sealing ring 34 into engagement with the insert in a manner to prevent leakage of tank. However, when it is desired to drain the tank, the drain member may be raised against the action of the spring 20 to lift the sealing ring from the end of the bore 32 in the insert and to expose the radially extending drain openings 38 above the inner end of the insert. The oil may then be drained from the tank through openings 38 and central bore 36 without removing the insert from the drain plug. When the oil has been drained off, or removed to the desired extent, the drain member 30 may be lowered to seal the drain plug again and cut off the fiow of oil.

In the alternative, if it is desired to remove metal chips collected on the magnetic head 14, the insert 16 can be unscrewed from the drain plug whereupon valve mema to her 22 will seal ofi the bore 26 in the drain plug from which the insert is removed. The construction thus provided embodies, ,in efiect, a, dual valve arrangement wherein one valve is operable to permit. oil drainage while the insert, 16 remains in place whereas theother valve prevents oil drainage when the insert 16 is removed.

While the drain member 30 may be raised and lowered within the insert 16 by means of threads, it is preferable to provide for instant or quick opening of the drain member. As shown in Figs. l 4, this may be e'fifected by providing the insert '16 with a bayonet-like connection. for this'purpose, insert 16 may be formed with an annular groove 40 designed to receive a leg or pin 42 which projects radially from the drain member 30. A notch 45 in thelower face of the insert 16 serves to permit movement of the drain member 30 and pin 42 longitudinally of the insert and into a position wherein the pin is aligned with the groove 40.. Thus, the drain member may be pushed inward by means of the enlarged knurled head or finger piece 44 and rotated to cause the pin 42 to engage the lower side of the groove 40 whereby the drain member will be held in its raised and oil draining position.

.The drainage of oil can thus be efiected by simply pushing inward and turning the drain member 30 to hold it elevated. When sufiicient oil has been drained from the tank, the drain member is rotated to bring the pin 42 into registry with the notch 45 whereupon the drain member iwill spring outward under the action of the spring 20 to .cut oil the flow of oil. The action of opening and closing the valve means controlling drainage of the oil can thus be efiected quickly and easily without danger of spilling oil about.

' As shown in Figs. and 6, it is possible to position and retain the insert in the plug by a bayonet-like construction for quick and easy removal if desired. In this form of the invention, the plug 50 is provided with a central bore 52 which is not threaded but is formed near its lower end with an annular groove 54. The insert 56 which carries a magnetic head 58 is provided near its lower end with a radially projecting pin 60 designed to move within the groove 54. Notches 62 in the base of the plug extend to the groove 54 permitting insertion and .removal of the insert whereas depressions 64 in groove 54 serve to hold the insert in place when turned to bring I the. pin 60 into registry therewith.

With this construction; the insert 56, when in place with pin 60 in the depressions 64, is held against displacement due to vibration by the action of the spring 66 and valve member 68 which urge the insert outward and press the pin 60 into depressions 64. However, when the insert is to be removed, it is simply pushed inward against the action of spring 66 to raise pin 60 from depressions 64 and is then turned until the pin registers with the notches 62 in the groove. The insert can then be removed quickly and easily and spring 66 will urge the valve member 68 into position to close oil the bore 52 in the plug and prevent leakage of oil from the tank.

The action of the spring 66 incombination with pin 60 and depressions 64'is such as to retain the insert in place against the action of vibration so that the usual tie orretaining means heretofore required to prevent loosening of the insert can be eliminated altogether.

The form of the invention shownin Fig. 7 represents a simplified and improved form of the "construction disclosed in Figs. 1 -4 in that it embodies fewer parts and is quicker operating. As shown, the plug 70 is formed with a central bore 72 in which the insert '74 is slidably and rotatably mounted. The lower portion of the bore 72 is provided with spaced annular grooves 76 and 78 designed to receive the end of the transverse pin 80 which projects beyond the cylindrical body of the insert 74. A notch 82 leads from the lower groove 76 whereas a notch 84 leads from the lower groove 76 to the upper groove 78.

The upper portion of the bore 72 in the plug is provided with a sealing ring 86" while the upper portion of insert 74 is formed with radially extending oil drain passages 83 which communicate with the central drain passage 9t). The radially extending passages 88 are positioned so that they will be located below the sealing ring 86 when the insert is in the lower position shown in full lines in Fig. 7 with the pin on the insert located in the lower groove 76 of the plug. However, in order to drain oil from the tank the insert 74 can be rotated and pushed inward. so that pin 80 moves through notch 84 to the upper groove 78'. The radially extending drain passages 88 are thereby raised above the sealing ring 86 and are exposed to permit drainage of oil through the central drain passage 90 of the insert.

The insert itself may, of course, be removed from the plug to clean the chips from the magnetic head 92 or" the insert by simply rotating. the insert to bring pin 80 into registry with the notch 82' and withdrawing the insert. When withdrawn the valve member 94 will be urged downward by spring 96 to engage the valve seating surfaces 98 and prevent the loss of oil from the tank.

The grooves 76 and 78 are preferably formed with depressions Hi0 and 102 respectively which are conveniently formed by drilling holes through the plug and inserting closure pins or dowels 104. The insert, when in either its normal lower position wherein the pin Si? is in lower groove 76 or in its upper oil draining position wherein the pin 80 is in the upper groove 78, can be rotated until the pin rests in the depression 163% or 02. The spring 96 and valve member 94 will then serve to urge the pin 80 into the depression and will prevent accidental displacement of the insert due to vibration or for any other reason. It is, therefore, unnecessary to employ additional ties or retaining means for holding the .insert in place.

The construction thus provided permits quick or instantaneous movement of the insert to either its oil draining position or for removal thereof from the plug. Moreover, the insert cannot be lost or mislaid during oil drainage.

The construction shown in Fig. 8 of the drawings serves to illustrate still another form of the present invention wherein the insert is constructed so that it may be removed and inverted to permit the drainage of oil from a tank. For this purpose, the plug 112 is provided with a threaded bore 114 into which the insert 110 may be threaded with, the end thereof which carries the magnetic chip collecting head '116 facing upward. The valve member 118 is thereby raised from its seat 120 to permit oil to circulate in contact with the magnetic head 116.

The opposite or upper end of the insert 110 as shown in Fig. 8 is threaded at 122 and provided with a central'drain passage 124 from which radially extending passages 126 extend to points above the shoulder 128 of the insert, and radially extending passages 130 extend to points adjacent the end plug 132 of the insert.

With this construction, when oil is to be drained from the tank, the insert, which is normally positioned with the magnetic head upward, is removed whereupon the valve member 118 will close the central bore 114 of the plug under the action of the spring 134. However, when the insert 110 is inverted and threaded back into the bore 114, the valve member 118 will be raised by the end plug 132 of the insert permitting oil to flow from the tank through radial passages 130, central passage 124 and radial passages 126..

While the invention has been described with reference to various forms and modifications thereof, it will be apparent that numerous other changes and modifications can be made in the form, construction and arrangement of the elements of the combination. In view thereof it .should be understood that theparticular embodiments of the invehtion shown in the drawings and described above should be understood as being illustrative only and are not intended to limit the scope of the invention.

I claim:

1. In a drain plug for a crank case or the like having a body with a bore therethrough together with a valve member for closing said bore and a spring urging the valve member toward a bore closing position, the combination of an insert within said bore movable longitudinally of the bore from one position to another, said spring urging said insert toward one of said positions, a pin on said insert projecting radially therefrom, a slot in said body into which said pin projects when said insert is in one of said positions, and a depression in said slot into which said pin is urged by said spring, said insert having a passage therethrough together with a second valve controlling the drainage of liquid from the crank case, the inner end of the passage being positioned to be exposed to the interior of the crank case when said insert is moved to one of said positions against the action of said spring.

2. A drain plug for a crank case or the like comprising a body having a bore therethrough, a valve member movable toward and away from a bore closing position, a spring carried by said body and engaging said valve member to urge the valve member toward a bore closing position, an insert rotatably and longitudinally mounted within said bore and having the inner end thereof engaged by said valve member, said insert being urged longitudinally outward in said bore by said spring, cooperating pin and slot means carried by said insert and body and engageable to hold said insert in a selected predetermined position against the action of said spring, and a depression in said slot means into which said pin is urged by said spring and serving to prevent rotation of said insert.

3. A drain plug for a crank case or the like comp rising a body having a bore therethrough, a valve member movable toward and away from a bore closing position, a spring carried by said body and engaging said valve member to urge the valve member toward a bore closing position, an insert rotatably and longitudinally mounted within said bore and having the inner end thereof engaged by said valve member, said insert being urged longitudinally outward in said bore by said spring, cooperating pin and slot means carried by said insert and body and engageable to hold said insert in a selected predetermined position against the action of said spring,

- and a depression in said slot means into which said pin is urged by said spring and serving to prevent rotation of said insert, said insert having magnetic means thereon exposed to the interior of plug when said insert is engaged by' said valve member.

4. A drain plug for a crank case or the like comprising a body having a bore therethrough, a valve member movable toward and away from a bore closing position, a spring carried by said body and engaging said valve member to urge the valve member toward a bore closing position, an insert rotatably and longitudinally mounted within said bore having the inner end thereof engaged by said valve member, said insert being urged longitudinally outward in said bore by said spring, cooperating pin and slot means carried by said insert and body and engageable to hold said insert in a selected predetermined position against the action of said spring, and a depression in said slot means into which said pin is urged by said spring and serving to prevent rotation of said insert, said insert having magnetic means thereon exposed to the interior of plug when said insert is engaged by said valve member, and having a drain passage therethrough together with a second valve means controlling communication with the interior of the plug when said insert is moved longitudinally of said bore under the action of said spring.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS 

